They can teach him attack the outside shoulder and set the edge or dip and rip, but will he be able to naturally react and understand when to use those techniques. That takes practice to figure out, and I can't imagine trying to learn it for the first time at the professional level.

Exactly, that is a HUGE hurdle. It would be different if he were a WR or a TE. But ppl don't understand, when a GROWN ASS MAN who is just as strong, just as athletic as you is pushing against you every play, trying to drive you where he wants you to go and you have to know how and when to counter that, in a split second, so you can stay in your gap or stay true to your run fit, becuase you being out of position puts the other 10 guys out of position, and to be consistent and discpline, play after play, snap after snap, is much harder than anything you can imagine. The interior position or much more about knowledge and techniques than physical attributes. A lot of guys who look good in shorts and spandex can't play a lick of football. Not saying Okoye is one of them. But just being a phenomenal athlete isn't enough. Not for football, at least.

Wait a minute.....you actually played football in college? What happened? Are you still playing football?

Regarding Okoye...I never said that he's going to be Justin Smith or something. All I said is that I think he'll beat out Dobbs, Tukuafu and Jerrod Eddie for a roster spot on the final 53. Let's be honest, while they have the experience and whatnot, its not like they're Justin Smith part 2. Come on. I can easily see Okoye winning a roster spot over those three but we'll just have to wait and see.

And vafy-ya said that Okoye was actually a rugby player which people say is tougher to play than football, more violent and more physical. While I dont know how true that is, I do know that experience cant hurt him and will only help him make the transition.

Yeah played four years. Injures mostly I had kind of a freakish ankle injury my sophmore year where part of my tibia and part of my ankle broke off and caught on each other limiting my range of motion. Pretty much injures and never being able to stick at one place for a long time.

I played at City College of San Francisco for the 09-10 season. I was at the University of Idaho before that. I finished up at Lindenwood University after the 2012 season. I would be a senior going into this year but got pretty banged up and didn't fit in with the new regime at Lindenwood.

I didn't know this until yesterday but I played against Will Davis too my sophmore year small world sometimes haha.

What were your injuries and why didnt you try to transfer to another college?

Yeah played four years. Injures mostly I had kind of a freakish ankle injury my sophmore year where part of my tibia and part of my ankle broke off and caught on each other limiting my range of motion. Pretty much injures and never being able to stick at one place for a long time.

I played at City College of San Francisco for the 09-10 season. I was at the University of Idaho before that. I finished up at Lindenwood University after the 2012 season. I would be a senior going into this year but got pretty banged up and didn't fit in with the new regime at Lindenwood.

I didn't know this until yesterday but I played against Will Davis too my sophmore year small world sometimes haha.

Wow, thats what's up. Props to you, being a college athlete is hard work. I applaud you.

Wait a minute.....you actually played football in college? What happened? Are you still playing football?

Regarding Okoye...I never said that he's going to be Justin Smith or something. All I said is that I think he'll beat out Dobbs, Tukuafu and Jerrod Eddie for a roster spot on the final 53. Let's be honest, while they have the experience and whatnot, its not like they're Justin Smith part 2. Come on. I can easily see Okoye winning a roster spot over those three but we'll just have to wait and see.

And vafy-ya said that Okoye was actually a rugby player which people say is tougher to play than football, more violent and more physical. While I dont know how true that is, I do know that experience cant hurt him and will only help him make the transition.

You just don't get it....which is common for you Dan :/

These guys arent bums. They made a NFL roster. You know how many college football players there are? At all levels? Hundreds of thousands. You know how many professional football players they are? A lot fewer. Take 53, add 8, and multiply that by 32. Those are the select few that can call themselves NFL players , every year. And Tukuafu and Dobbs have done just that, year after year, on one of the hardest rosters to crack in the league. They aren't Justin Smith. But they are hardly bums.

And most of these guys and the players they've competed against to earn those roster spots, having been playing football since their youth. At every level you proceed as a football player, the player pool gets smaller and the talent level increases. From youth football, to hs, to college, to the pros. Okoye is a world class athlete no doubt, but he facing a steep climb, going against other elite, world class athletes, who have been playing this game a lot longer and know the nuisances, inside and out, as they grew up in a country where playing football is like putting on pants in the morning....it comes rather natural.

These guys arent bums. They made a NFL roster. You know how many college football players there are? At all levels? Hundreds of thousands. You know how many professional football players they are? A lot fewer. Take 53, add 8, and multiply that by 32. Those are the select few that can call themselves NFL players , every year. And Tukuafu and Dobbs have done just that, year after year, on one of the hardest rosters to crack in the league. They aren't Justin Smith. But they are hardly bums.

And most of these guys and the players they've competed against to earn those roster spots, having been playing football since their youth. At every level you proceed as a football player, the player pool gets smaller and the talent level increases. From youth football, to hs, to college, to the pros. Okoye is a world class athlete no doubt, but he facing a steep climb, going against other elite, world class athletes, who have been playing this game a lot longer and know the nuisances, inside and out, as they grew up in a country where playing football is like putting on pants in the morning....it comes rather natural.

Yep...I never get it and im always wrong. Whatever.

Dobbs and Tukuafu have only been on an active roster for two years. You act like its been ten. All im saying is that I think Okoye has the skill, talent and determination to beat out those other three guys. I never said that its a guarantee. Okoye could be gone even before TC but im betting on him beating out those other guys.

And I never said that playing football and whatnot is easy. I never said anything like that. I just think that when you look at Okoye, Dobbs and Tukuafu and take all things into consideration, I think that it will be Okoye who gets a roster spot over the other two but we'll just have to wait and see.

In other news, visiting a lot of Niners forums and seeing most hate the McDonald pick. And I competely understand why because his drops scare the **** out of me also. And it was a bit of a reach but I can also see why they liked him. His body type and athleticism is rare. I watched him against Texas and even though his blocking needs work, he blocked Vacarro, out in space a few times, with relative ease. His upside is through the roof. He just really needs to work on his hands like VD did and put the work in to get better at his craft. And all of his drops came on bubble screens, where he just didn't look the ball in and was turning upfield too soon. But there were ALOT of them :( , though I still say I don't think it's bad hands, as much as its concentration and attention to detail. I think they liked Kelce but his off-field stuff might have scared them. We'll never know but he's the biggest question mark for me, in this draft. But I can't argue with why he was the choice. At of all the TE I saw, he most easily resembled Delaine in his role here.

McDonald is the best player to fit the Delanie Walker at this moment. There where guys that maybe could have grown in that role and become better but McDonald can step in right away i think.

For the Okoye discussion. He can make the roster if he shows enough promise and understanding of the game that they don't wanne risk him picked up by some other team. Dobbs, Tukuafu and TJE are more you get what you see type of guys who don't have the posibilities Okoye has when he gets to understand the game itself. He wouldn't be put on the 53 because he is a better player at this moment but he would be there to let him grow and become better.

In other news, visiting a lot of Niners forums and seeing most hate the McDonald pick. And I competely understand why because his drops scare the **** out of me also. And it was a bit of a reach but I can also see why they liked him. His body type and athleticism is rare. I watched him against Texas and even though his blocking needs work, he blocked Vacarro a few times with relative ease. His upside is through the roof. He just really needs to work on his hands like VD did and put the work in to get better at his craft. And all of his drops came on bubble screens, where he just didn't look the ball in and was turning upfield too soon. But there were ALOT of them :( , though I still say I don't think it's bad hands, as much as its concentration and attention to detail. I think they liked Kelce but his off-field stuff might have scared them. We'll never know but he's the biggest question mark for me, in this draft. But I can't argue with why he was the choice. At of all the TE I saw, he most easily resembled Delaine in his role here.

I think we are both in the same boat with this one. We can get on board with the pick, but liked other guys at that position.

As far as McDonald goes, without a doubt his style of play fits with how we used Delanie. Which is crazy because Delanie was 6 ft 240 ish? V-Mac is 6'4" 267!

I agree on the hands. There are plays where he looks it in and those puppies look soft as hell - effortless. And then, just as you said, he'll drop those bubble screens before he even gets started. I think he and Vernon will both benefit from eachother.

I think we are both in the same boat with this one. We can get on board with the pick, but liked other guys at that position.

I could have defintely lived with getting Gragg later on. Out of the top group of guys...Eifert, Ertz, Escobar, Kelce, and McD, I thought Eifert was clearly the best but McDonald was the most versatile and had the highest ceiling. Like I said, his drops kept me from giving him my full endorsement. But I defintely wasn't upset when I saw his name called.

Okoye is quite a speciman, but his chances of making this roster are ridiculously small. I'd say MAYBE 5% chance. We'd be better off if he had some sort of phantom injury and could IR him.

I expect some of the rookies to catch that phantom injury bug. Teams stash guys on IR all the time. They really need to up the rosters to 58 and active day roster to 48 or 50. The players these days are too big and fast. Collusions are bigger now and injuries are too common. Especially season-ending ones. Teams need more resources these days. But I know owners are too cheap to do it, even though it may help their team compete, especially later on during the sseason when injuries can mount.

Remember Vernon used to have bad hands when we first drafted him. He's just going to have to hit up the jugs

Yea but Vernon had great hands in college. I didn't see him drop a single pass in college and I saw him play plenty. Same with Crabtree. They got to the pros, where the game moves faster, and that's when the drops came for both. You normally don't have suspect hands, get to the pros and improve them. So like I said, I pray its just a concentration thing that he can correct with enough reps and coaching.

I liked the McDonald pick as I think that he'll be an upgrade in the passing game. Yeah, his blocking may just be okay but I want to see him used as another offensive weapon, not as a blocker. If Celek can block, then he can be used in that way. Can see McDonald being used as a receiver on some plays while Davis blocks. Either way, cant wait to see how he and the other rookies play. Season cant come fast enough.

LOVE this Draft! I was on a mutliple city trip on the East Coast, checking updates on my phone and wasn't able to weigh in during the unfolding, but this was a fun process to see occur.

I see a fit/plan with EACH player they drafted as well as their UFA's, which include some projects that will be safe to leave on the P-Squad as they won't want to leave the Niners and start over with another coaching regime just to be on a 53. The fans that don't like the McDonald pick are just ignorant as he wasn't a big name. He is easily D-Walk 2.0, INCLUDING his sometimes questionable hands. Delanie dropped everything last year!

Vafy - We got Lattimore. Niners must have agreed with the draft/stash idea for him. He may not work out but he's a guy I'll root for to the end and was worth the dice role/pick they invested in him. Harbaugh has the same appreciation in his interviews discussing him and they are already slowing down his recovery workout regimen, planting the seed to "red shirt" him for his rookie year.

All hail Baalke on another excellent Draft.

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Operation 2015 Super Bowl Champions: In progress, with much work to be done